Victoria & Abdul [DVD]

I have watched this film many times and never tire of it. Judy Dench is a treasure as always and lends her exceptional acting skills to this film which at its core is an unconventional love story of a platonic nature. Would highly revoke d the film as a story and even though not all the elements are facts I think the writers have done a wonderful job of filling in some gaps that make the film a timeless piece.

It’s a DVD

I really enjoyed this movie, especially that I enjoy history. Well done!

Up front: I subtracted a star because the subtitles are tiny and not on the screen long enough when some Urdu conversations occur. That detracted from an otherwise excellent film.The events are mostly true, although embellished as one would expect from Hollywood. The embellishment does not detract from the movie (for me). If you are a purist you will probably find a lot of nits to pick. If you want to learn something about historical events that give some context to the British colonialism in India this is informative. It also hints at the schism between Islam and Hindu factions in India, which would culminate about sixty years later in the "Partition". But mainly you will gain deep insights into Victoria as a person, and the Queen as a force that is not nearly as absolute as we American tend to think. One surprising fact that surfaced is the Victoria had more than a rudimentary grasp of Urdu, which is very close to Hindi when spoken, but uses a right to left script similar to Arabic. That Victoria was able to write coherent notes in that language, using that script, impresses me to no end and speaks volumes about her intellectual capacity.Others have eloquently written about the great acting and beautiful cinematography, so I will just agree and move on. If you like historical and biographical films - and especially those about Victoria in particular or the British monarchy in general - you will probably enjoy this film. I am sure that I will rewatch it a few more times to catch nuances that I missed during my first viewing. And I will continue to research what little is known about the key players, including the court, to augment my understanding. That is one of my joys of learning.

It showed new aspects of past British royalty that I was unaware of.

Judi has done better

Victoria & Abdul is the story of Queen Victoria’s relationship with Abdul Karim, an Indian Muslim. Karim was just 24 years-old when he came to Victoria’s court from the city of Agra, India to be one of her two Indian servants. He was quickly elevated to the title of “Munshie” or teacher, ostensibly to school the Queen in the Urdu language, but he soon became her most trusted confident and advisor on Indian affairs.Queen Victoria had been devastated at the loss of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861. She then developed a close relationship with her personal servant, John Brown, but he too passed away in 1883. In 1887, when Abdul Karim arrived from India, what developed was a friendship that set the Queen’s household on its ear.When they began her Hindustani lessons, neither the Queen nor her Munshie realized exactly how much everyone in Queen Victoria’s court would oppose him. For the next thirteen years, everyone around the Queen attempted to sabotage their friendship, but she steadfastly refused to hear anything against him.In the book, author Shrabani Basu had framed a very readable book, despite a dizzying number of unfamiliar terms, locations and players. She also made a very convincing argument that, as Queen Victoria believed, the objections raised against Karim were entirely due to racism and class snobbery. Although the film version does not articulate these points per se, the performances of the supporting cast make it plain that the household’s objection to Mr. Karim are in fact due to these factors.Queen Victoria held the title of Empress of India and, as the reigning monarch of the Indian colony, was very much loved by the Indian people. She insisted on having a large number of Indian servants in her household, much to the chagrin and disgust of her family and court. The various people in her life attempted to discredit the Munshie time and again, but were never able to substantiate any claims against him.When Queen Victoria died, the Munshie and his family were expelled from England, along with all the other Indians in her court. All personal correspondence from the Queen to her Munshie were seized and burned after her death and a paranoid persecution of Abdul and his family continued even beyond his death, eight years after his beloved queen. Of course, the situation in India did not continue and British rule was abolished less than fifty years after the reign of Queen Victoria. For over one hundred years the story of the Munshie and his Queen languished in obscurity, until the book Victoria and Abdul and then the film of the same title untangled a very complicated and hidden chapter in English and Indian history. Victoria & Abdul was a very interesting film and the book was an even more interesting read and I definitely recommend them both.

Well acted interesting portrayal of a time in English history.

Brilliant movie,beautifully acted as you can expect from Judy Dence. Fantastic way to learn historian. Fassinating story, keep you intrested from the start to Very end. Story of love and loyalty most beautifully made.

Very enjoyable movie

Really enjoyed this movie.

A little slow but enjoyable